James Montgomery
James F. Montgomery (4 November 1771 - 30 April 1854) was an Scottish poet, editor, and hymnist. Life Overview Montgomery, son of a pastor and missionary of the Moravian Brethren, was born at Irvine, Ayrshire, and educated at the Moravian School at Fulneck, near Leeds. After various changes of occupation and abode, he settled in Sheffield in 1792 as clerk to a newspaper. In 1796 he had become editor of the Sheffield Iris, and was twice imprisoned for political articles for which he was held responsible. In 1797 he publishe Prison Amusements; but his 1st work to attract notice was The Wanderer of Switzerland (1806). It was followed by The West Indies (1809), The World before the Flood (1812), Greenland (1819), and The Pelican Island (1828), all of which contain passages of considerable imaginative and descriptive power, but are lacking in strength and fire. He himself expected that his name would live, if at all, in his hymns, and in this his judgment has proved true. Some of these, such as "For ever with the Lord," "Hail to the Lord's Anointed," and "Prayer is the Soul's sincere Desire," are sung wherever the English language is spoken. Montagu was a good and philanthropic man, the opponent of every form of injustice and oppression, and the friend of every movement for the welfare of the race. His virtues attained wide recognition.John William Cousin, "Montgomery, James," A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: Dent / New York: Dutton, 1910, 276. Wikisource, Web, Feb. 14, 2018. He was particularly associated with humanitarian causes such as the campaigns to abolish slavery and to end the exploitation of child chimney sweeps. Family Montgomery was born at Irvine in Ayrshire, 4 November 1771. His family, originally Scottish, had for several generations been settled in Ulster, where his great-grandfather is said to have possessed and dissipated a landed estate. His father, John Montgomery, had at all events been born in the condition of a labourer at Ballykennedy, co. Antrim, in 1733. Having embraced the tenets of the Moravians, who had founded a settlement in the neighbourhood, to which they had given the name of Grace Hill, the elder Montgomery became a minister; married a member of the Moravian community in 1768, and at the time of his son's birth had just arrived at Irvine to take charge of the Moravian congregation, at that time the only one in Scotland. He returned to Ireland in 1775, and the parents proceeded in 1783 as missionaries to Barbados, where his father died of yellow fever in 1791. His mother, Mary Montgomery, had died at Tobago in the previous year.Garnett, 317. Youth In 1777 James was sent to school at the Moravian establishment at Fulneck, near Leeds. Neglecting the studies considered essential at Fulneck, he employed himself in the composition of 2 epic poems, one on Alfred, the other entitled The World, in the manner of Milton. The principal incident in the latter was the Archangel Michael taking Satan by surprise and lopping off one of his wings.Garnett, 318. The Moravians for a time clipped Montgomery's own wings by placing him with a baker; but the employment proved intolerable, and in 1787 Montgomery ran away with 3 and 6-pence in his pocket and a bundle of verses, which proved more valuable than might have been expected, for a poem, written out fairly and presented to Earl Fitzwilliam, brought him a guinea. He was, nevertheless, soon obliged to apply for a character to his old instructors and to his master, who treated him with much kindness, and he obtained a situation in a general store in the little town of Wath. Career After a year he quit and made his way with his manuscripts to London, but, finding no encouragement from the publishers, returned to Wath, and remained there till April 1792, when, by answering an advertisement in the Sheffield Register, he obtained a situation as clerk and bookkeeper in the office of that newspaper. This change brought Montgomery into intellectual society; his literary talent began to be appreciated; he gradually became an extensive contributor to the paper. An unexpected circumstance opened up the path to independence. This was the prosecution and flight of Mr. Gales, the proprietor and editor of the 'Register,' and an ardent reformer, on account of a letter found on the person of Thomas Hardy on his apprehension, and attributed to Gales, who was in fact cognisant of its having been sent, though he was not the actual writer. Gales escaped to America; money to carry on the paper was found by a wealthy townsman named Naylor, and Montgomery became the working editor of the journal, which endeavoured to disarm the hostility of the government by changing its title to the Sheffield Iris, and adopting a more moderate line in politics. In 1795 Naylor retired from the paper on account of his marriage, and it became the property of Montgomery, who also entered into business as a general printer. Within a few years he was enabled to pay off the purchase-money of the journal, and to obtain a highly respectable competence. Before this was achieved, however, he had to bear the brunt of 2 prosecutions for libel, each of which resulted in his conviction and imprisonment for a term in York Castle, though neither could affix the least stigma to his character. The 1st prosecution (January 1795) was on account of a ballad in commemoration of the Fall of the Bastille, a few copies of which had been sold to a travelling hawker; it had been printed by Montgomery's predecessor, and had in fact no reference to the events of the day. It was subsequently shown by official correspondence that the prosecution was instituted as a means of intimidating the Sheffield political clubs. The 2nd prosecution (January 1796) Montgomery undoubtedly brought upon himself by statements respecting the behavior of a magistrate, Colonel Athorpe, in dispersing a riotous assemblage, which could not be fully justified, although the explanations he was ready to have offered would probably have been accepted but for the embittered state of political feeling at the time. After his release in July he published the Prison Amusements which had enlivened his confinement, and in 1798 a volume of essays entitled The Whisperer, under the pseudonym of "Gabriel Silvertongue." He subsequently destroyed every copy he could lay his hands on; while a novel, in 4 volumes, completed during his second imprisonment, was destroyed in manuscript. For some time the Iris was the only newspaper in Sheffield; but beyond the ability to produce fairly creditable articles from week to week, Montgomery was entirely devoid of the journalistic faculties which would have enabled him to take advantage of his position. Other newspapers arose to fill the place which his might have occupied, and in 1825 the journal passed into other hands. During the greater part of this period he had given more attention to poetry than to journalism. The Ocean (1805) attracted little attention, but The Wanderer of Switzerland (1806), founded upon the French conquest of Switzerland, took the public ear at once. The volume nevertheless speedily went through 3 editions, and its sale was not materially checked by a caustic review from the pen of Jeffrey (Edinburgh Review, January 1807), which indeed gained Montgomery many friends. Montgomery himself became a reviewer, taking an important part in the newly established Eclectic Review, in which he afterwards declared that he had noticed every contemporary of note except Byron. His criticism evinces little insight; he is a tolerably safe guide where no guidance is needed, but is slow, though by no means through unwillingness to appreciate the merits of contemporaries. A more thoroughly impartial critic never wrote. The success of The Wanderer brought him in 1807 a commission from the printer Bowyer to write a poem on the abolition of the slave trade, to be published along with other poems on the subject in a handsome illustrated volume. The subject was well adapted to Montgomery's powers, appealing at once to the philanthropic enthusiasm in which his strength lay, and to his own touching associations with the West Indies. His poem entitled The West Indies accordingly appeared in Bowyer's illustrated publication in 1809. On its 1st appearance in Bowyer's volume it proved a failure, but when published separately (London, 1810, 12mo) it obtained great popularity. The World before the Flood followed in 1812.Garnett, 319. Rev. James Cotterill arrived at the parish church (now the cathedral) in 1817. He had compiled and published A Selection of Psalms and Hymns: Adapted to the services of the Church of England in 1810, but to his disappointment and concern he found that his new parishioners did not take kindly to using it. He therefore enlisted Montgomery to help him revise the collection and improve it by adding some hymns of the poet's own composition. This new edition, meeting with the approval of the Archbishop of York (and eventually of the parishioners of St Paul’s), was finally published in 1820. Montgomery's next considerable efforts were Greenland (1819), a poem founded on the Moravian missions to Greenland. Montgomery's last important poem, and The Pelican Island (1826). Later years After retiring from the Iris, Montgomery continued to reside at Sheffield, where he had come to be accounted a local hero, and grew more and more in the respect of his fellow-townsmen by his exemplary life and activity in furthering every good work, whether philanthropic or religious. In 1830 and 1831 he delivered lectures on poetry at the Royal Institution, which were published in 1833. They are, perhaps, of all his writings those which it is easiest to praise unreservedly, the opinions being almost invariably just, and conveyed with a force and sometimes even a poetry of diction which nothing in his previous criticisms had seemed to promise. In 1831 he also compiled from the original documents the journals of D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, who had been deputed by the London Missionary Society to visit their stations in the South Sea Islands, China, and India. About 1835 he contributed fairly adequate accounts of Dante, Ariosto, and Tasso to Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia.' The remainder of his life was devoted to religious and philanthropic undertakings. Montgomery was emphatically a good man; greatness, whether intellectual or poetical, cannot be claimed for him. He had sound plain sense; his conversation, judging from the copious specimens recorded by his biographers, was instructive and entertaining, but neither brilliant nor profound; his letters, though expressive of his admirable character, are in general grievously verbose. He never married. He died rather suddenly on 30 April 1854. He was honored by a public funeral, and buried in Sheffield cemetery. Writing As a poet Montgomery is only eminent in descriptive passages, for which he is usually indebted to books rather than his own observation of nature. The minor pieces which have obtained a wide circulation usually deserve it, but they are buried in his works among masses of commonplace which should never have been printed. He is largely indebted for his fame to the approbation of religious circles, better judges of his sentiments than of his poetry: this has, on the other hand, occasioned unreasonable prejudice against him in other quarters. On the whole he may be characterised as something less than a genius and something more than a mediocrity. The Wanderer of Switzerland (1806) took the public ear at once, probably on account of the subject, and from the merit of some of the miscellaneous pieces accompanying it, especially the fine and popular lyric, "The Grave." The principal poem is as a whole very feeble, though a happy thought or vigorous expression may be found here and there. The West Indies (1810) is a great improvement on The Wanderer, and, although rather rhetoric than poetry, is in general well conceived and well expressed, and skilful as well as sincere in its appeals to public sentiment. The World before the Flood (1812), also in heroic verse, is a more ambitious attempt, and displays more poetic fire and spirit than any of Montgomery's previous performances; nor is it so deficient in human interest as might have been expected in an epic on the wars of the giants and the patriarchs. The descriptive passages frequently possess great merit. There are some indications of creative power in The World before the Flood, and the character of Javan is well drawn; but, as Mrs. Hofland remarked, he drew from himself. Greenland (1819) was noted for the beauty of its descriptions: ::::The moon is watching in the sky; the stars ::::Are swiftly wheeling on their golden cars; ::::Ocean, outstretcht with infinite expanse, ::::Serenely slumbers in a glorious trance; ::::The tide, o’er which no troubled spirits breathe, ::::Reflects a cloudless firmament beneath, ::::Where poised as in the centre of a sphere ::::A ship above and ship below appear; ::::A double image pictured on the deep, ::::The vessel o’er its shadow seems to sleep; ::::Yet, like the host of heaven, that never rest, ::::With evanescent motion to the west, ::::The pageant glides through loneliness and night, ::::And leaves behind a rippling wake of light. ::::(Canto 1, lines 1-14) The Pelican Island (1826), also contains very fine descriptive passages, but with more preaching has less human interest than 'Greenland,' and is marred by being written in blank verse, of which the author was by no means a master. A considerable part of his reputation with the public at large rests upon his numerous hymns, which were collected in 1853. During his life he composed some 400, although less than a hundred are current today. The finest were those written in his earlier years, including "Go to dark Gethsemane," "Songs of praise the Angels sang," and "For ever with the Lord." Over 100 of his other hymns are still in use (Julian, Dict. of Hymnology, p. 764). The 1st collective edition of Montgomery's poems, edited by himself, appeared in 4 volumes, London, 1841, 8vo. This passed through several editions. His poems form volumes in the 'Lansdowne Poets,' the 'Chandos Poets,' and the 'Chandos Classics,' Critical introduction by Alfred H. Miles Montgomery was held in great esteem by the best of his contemporaries, and for a long time enjoyed a much higher position, both in their regard and in public opinion, than his poetic work would seem to justify. Leigh Hunt, in his Feast of the Poets, introduces Montgomery side by side with Campbell as a poet whom Apollo was glad to welcome, and yet of all those named as honoured of the song God at this “Feast of Reason,” Shelley, Keats, Scott, Rogers, Landor, Byron, Moore, Crabbe, Southey, Campbell, Coleridge, and Wordsworth, Montgomery had surely the least right to be present. The secret of this exalted estimate is doubtless to be found in the character of the man, his unswerving integrity, genial benevolence, and enthusiastic zeal for the cause of freedom for which he suffered, and which made the poem that he lived greater than any that he wrote. The Edinburgh Review attacked The Wanderer of Switzerland on its publication with characteristic violence, and predicted that “in less than three years no one would know the name of its author.” Of course the Edinburgh was wrong in naming a 3 years’ limit, for in that period the work passed through a number of editions, and greatly extended its author’s fame; but equally, of course, the Edinburgh was right in denying The Wanderer a permanent place in literature. It is a feeble performance, and doubtless owed its popularity to the strong feeling of public sympathy felt for the Swiss patriots then suffering under French conquest. The West Indies, The World before the Flood, Greenland, and the Pelican Islands, show a great advance upon The Wanderer, and contain many passages of admirable descriptive writing. But even these are often but 2nd-hand work,— the versification of the experiences of others — for his inspiration and information were drawn not from the book of nature direct, but from gazetteers and books of travel. The World Before the Flood is perhaps the most original of his longer works. It is not however by these longer poems that the name of James Montgomery will be perpetrated. It is as a religious poet, and as a writer of sacred lyrics which give expression to the aspirations and reflections of devout hearts, that he will be longest remembered; and it is not too much to say that in this department of poetic work his permanence seems fairly secure. Over a hundred of his hymns are said to be still in use. Among the more successful and popular of these are “Songs of praise the Angels sang,” “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,” “At home in Heaven,” and “Go to dark Gethsemane.” “James Montgomery is essentially a religious poet,” wrote William Howitt, “and it is what of all things upon earth we can well believe he would most desire to be.” His Christian songs are vigorous in thought and feeling, simple and direct in diction, broad in Christian charity, lofty in spiritual aspiration, and entirely free from cant. As such they form a not unworthy opening section for a volume devoted to the sacred poetry of the century. from Alfred H. Miles, Critical and Biographical Essay: James Montgomery (1771–1854), The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. London: Routledge / New York: Dutton, 1907. Bartleby.com, Web, Aug. 24, 2016. Recognition In 1835 he received a pension of £150 on the recommendation of Sir Robert Peel. A monument designed by John Bell was erected over his grave in the Sheffield cemetery, at the cost of £1000, raised by public subscription at the initiative of the Sheffield Sunday School Union, of which he was among the founding members. On its granite pedestal is inscribed 'Here lies interred, beloved by all who knew him, the Christian poet, patriot, and philanthropist. Wherever poetry is read, or Christian hymns sung, in the English language, 'he being dead, yet speaketh' by the genius, piety and taste embodied in his writings.' There are also extracts from his poems "Prayer" and "The Grave". After it fell into disrepair the statue was moved to the precinct of Sheffield Cathedral in 1971, where there is also a memorial window.James Montgomer (poet), Wikipedia, October 12, 2017, Wikimedia Foundation. Web, Feb. 14, 2018. The best portraits of Montgomery are those respectively painted by the sculptor Chantrey in 1805, and by John Jackson in 1827. A full-length by Barber is in the Sheffield Literary and Philosophical Institute. The life of Montgomery was written by his friends, Dr. John Holland and Rev. James Everett, in 7 volumes, London, 1854-1856.Garnett, 320. Sheffield cemetery Elsewhere in Sheffield there are various streets named after Montgomery and a Grade II listed drinking fountain on Broad Lane. The meeting hall of the Sunday Schools Union (now known as the Sheffield Christian Education Council), situated in Surrey Street, was renamed in his honour in 1886; it also houses a small theatre which also bears his name. Elsewhere, Wath on Dearne, flattered by being called 'the queen of villages' in his work, has repaid the compliment by naming after him a community hall, a street and a square. His birthplace in Irving was renamed Montgomery House after he paid the town a return visit in 1841 but has since been demolished. Publications Poetry * Prison Amusements, and other trifles: Principally written during nine months of Confinement in the Castle of York (as "Paul Positive"). London: Joseph Johnson, 1797. * The Whisperer; or, Tales and speculations (as "Gabriel Silvertongue"). London: J. Johnson, 1798. * The Wanderer of Switzerland, and other poems. London: Vernor & Hood / Longman, Hurst, Rees, & Orme, 1806. * Poems on the Abolition of the Slave Trade (with James Grahame & Elizabeth Benger). London: R. Bowyer, 1809. * The West Indies, and other poems. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, & Orme, 1810. * The World Before The Flood: A poem, in ten cantos, with other occasional pieces. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, 1813. * Verses to the Memory of the Late Richard Reynolds, of Bristol. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, 1816. * Thoughts on Wheels. London: Sherwood, Neely, & Jones, 1817. [Published with Samuel Roberts' The State Lottery.] * Greenland, and other poems. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, 1819. * Songs of Zion: Being imitations of psalms. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, 1822. * The Poetical Works of James Montgomery: Collected by himself. (4 volumes), London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green, 1826-1827. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV. * The Pelican Island, and other poems. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green, 1827. * Poetical Works of James Montgomery: Collected by himself. (1 volume), London: Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans, 1850. * Original Hymns: For public, private, and social Devotion. London: Longman, Brown, Green, 1853. **also published as Sacred Poems and Hymns: for public and private devotion. New York: Appleton, 1854. *''Select Poetical Works. Boston: Philips, Sampson, 1857. * ''Poems (edited by Robert Aris Willmott). London: Routledge, Warne and Routledge, 1860 1859. * Poems (with introduction by George Wiley). Sheffield, UK: Hallamshire, 2000. Non-fiction * Prose by a Poet. (2 volumes), London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green, 1824. * Lectures on Poetry and General Literature. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, 1833. * A Practical Detail of the Cotton Manufacture of the United States of America; and the State of the Cotton Manufacture of that Country Contrasted and Compared with that of Great Britain; with Comparative Estimates of the Cost of Manufacturing in both Countries. Glasgow: J. Niven, 1840. Collected editions *''Memoirs of the Life and Writings of James Montgomery: Including selections from his correspondence, remains in prose and verse, and conversations on various subjects'' (edited by John Holland). (7 volumes), London: Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans, 1854-56.Search results = au:John Holland 1872, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 13, 2016. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV, Volume V, Volume VI, Volume VII Edited * The Chimney-Sweeper's Friend and Climbing-Boy's Album.. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green, 1824. * The Christian Poet; or, Selections in verse on sacred subjects, Glasgow: William Collins, 1825. * The Christian Psalmist; or, Hymns, selected and original, Glasgow: Chalmers & Collins, 1825; 6th edition, 1829 *''The Christian Correspondent: Letters, private and confidential by eminent persons of both sexes, exemplifying the fruits of holy living, and the blessedness of holy dying''. (3 volumes), London: William Bell, 1837. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the University of Toronto. Selected Poetry of James Montgomery (1771-1854), Representative Poetry Online, University of Toronto, UToronto.ca, Web, Dec. 9, 2011. See also * List of British poets * List of English-language hymnists References * . Wikiource, Web, Feb. 14, 2018. Notes External links ;Poems * Selected Poetry of James Montgomery (1771-1854) (2 poems) at Representative Poetry Online. *Montgomery in Sacred Poets of the 19th Century: "Songs of Praise," "Angels, from the realms of glory," "Hail to the Lord's anointed!," "Go, to dark Gethsemane," "At Home in Heaven," "Friends," "The Common Lot," "The Christian Soldier," "Prayer," "A poor wayfaring man," "The Field of the World," "The Grave," "Home," "The Slaver" * James Montgomery (1771-1854) at Cyberhymnal. *James Montgomery at PoemHunter (53 poems) *James F. Montgomery at Poetry Nook (198 poems) ;Books * 1854 illustrated edition of Montgomery's poems ;About *James Montgomery (1771-1854) at The Hymns and Carols of Christmas James Montgomery (1771-1854) Frisks Along a River Bank Following His Release from Jail at Captive Faith *[https://archive.org/details/cu31924104001643 Memoirs of the Life and Writings of James Montgomery: Including selections from his correspondence, remains in prose and verse, and conversations on various subjects] (London, 1855) by John Holland & James Everett *{DNB}} Montgomery, James (1771-1854) F Category:1771 births Category:1854 deaths Category:History of Sheffield Category:Burials at Sheffield General Cemetery Category:Christian hymnwriters Category:Writers of the Moravian Church Category:English people of the Moravian Church Category:People educated at Fulneck School Category:Hymnists Category:English poets Category:19th-century poets Category:Poets Category:English-language poets Category:Christian poets